Author's note Hello everyone I'm back!
Thanks as always to my wonderful reviewers. You guys are seriously the best. I honestly do appreciate them. Also over 40 reviews, I'm dazed. We're not even at the halfway point of this fic, and we still have a long way to go, and I already have ideas for a sequel in mind.
I can't believe how much support this fic's gotten and from the bottom of my heart, I have to thank all of the people who have viewed this story and hit that follow/fav button.
As always a big thank you to Miki-Chan13, bayj, Alexandria Prime, TGN, guest, and SD321. Your love and support for this story genuinely mean a lot to me. I'm also pleased to see that all of you are enjoying the story.
Without any further delays let's head on to the next chapter.
Disclaimer I don't own anything. Sonic the Hedgehog belongs to Sega.
Metropolis was the high-tech capital of Mobius. The pristine white buildings were pleasing to the eye as it was home to several high-rise luxury apartments. Metropolis held the record for the biggest city in all of Mobius. Two million Mobians took pride in living the high life with all of the latest technological devices at their fingertips. Metropolis' borders stretching fifty miles squared bordering the southern section of Mystic Jungle and the northern points of Redgate City.
It was home to the latest technological trends. One could say it was like stepping into a vision of Mobius' future. Billboards and giant jumbotrons hovered in the air displaying ads for the latest trends in technology from the tech companies who had formed fierce rivalries with each other determined to put the other company out of business.
The vast skyline under normal circumstances usually had all types of hover vehicles of all types transporting the citizens of Metropolis to their jobs and for them to come home at the end of a long day of hard work. There were long, twisting pathways that wound through the horizon, offering anyone who ran along it a fantastic view of the gleaming white city streets. When it became night time, all the buildings along the skyline would light up illuminating the night sky with a brightness that was said to rival Casino Night Zone.
However, this once pristine white city's future was looking bleak. It was now the main base for Eggman where it had been one of the very first targets following Sonic's defeat. The residents there had been unable to evacuate in time, and instead of walking the streets as free Mobians, they were prisoners stuffed into small cells forced to labor in Eggman's factories scattered around the city building robots for the doctor's ever-expanding mechanical army.
Infinite paced along the plush carpets of the penthouse he'd lived in as his "reward" for helping Eggman to conquer the world. He let out a low sigh, sitting down on the leather couch sinking into it. The jackal pulled out the small photo he'd carried with him. It was slightly creased. There were some nights where sleep refused to come to the jackal where he'd tossed and turned in his sleep plagued by nightmares about his squad dying.
The five smiling jackals looked up at him; his hand was obscuring part of the photo. He saw a faint glimmer of red and gray. He moved his hand to cover the far right side of the photograph hiding the two figures on it.
"Kaito, Saber, Quartz, Nephthys, Blade, Iris, Roscoe, Ace and Flint. I did it," Infinite let out a low sigh, feeling the small tear slip out from underneath his mask. "All of you should be at the top with me along with G—"
The jackal shook his head cutting off his speech the tips of his claws gently caressed the edge of the photo. All the pain he'd caused, the lives that he'd ended seeing the fear and terror on the citizens faces shutting out their pleas for mercy he would laugh enjoying their suffering the blood splattering on his mask.
It's all thanks to the Phantom Ruby. Infinite thought happily touching the gem on his chest. It indeed is the ultimate strength.
He loved it whenever he got the chance to indulge in his sadistic tendencies; it made him forget his old self — the old person who used to be known as Zerinn. His short crimson sword was propped up against one of the walls the blade pointing down onto the soft plush carpet next to an empty bookshelf. Ever since he'd acquired the power of the Phantom Ruby, he no longer had a use for his sword. It was more useful as a prop the crimson blade covered in dust from lack of use; the jackal ran a finger over it collecting dust on the tip of his finger.
At that moment the monitor stationed on the wall began to beep.
The sound caused Infinite to sigh in irritation. He jerked his head towards the small monitor stationed on the wall heaving a sigh. He could ignore incessant ringing of the summons from Eggman by pretending to sleep, but he knew the gesture would be pointless since his
"Infinite pickup! I know that you're there!"
Infinite heaved a sigh, walking away from his sword reluctantly facing the holo feed seeing Eggman's face on the screen. The all too familiar scowl on the doctor's face. Eggman did his best to hide just how angry he was at Infinite for disobeying him feeling his fingers twitch trying to resist the urge to strangle Infinite where he stood.
"What the hell do you want?"
"What I want is to talk about your damn disobedience concerning Shadow," Eggman said, struggling to keep his anger in check. "He was supposed to be on the Death Egg as a prisoner."
"He was nothing more than trash Doctor," Infinite replied calmly. "I've bested him, and he's no longer a threat to anyone."
"Shadow is just as fast as Sonic. There is a reason that he's called the Ultimate Lifeform!"
From his place on the Death, Egg Eggman rubbed at his temples, seeing Infinite fold his arms over his chest in a gesture of defiance. He looked down at the Phantom Ruby Prototype pulsing in the jackal's chest, and he had to wonder if infusing of the finalized Prototype of the Phantom Ruby with Infinite had been a mistake.
"Fine, then I have a job, one that I know the Ultimate Mercenary can handle," Eggman quipped sarcastically. "I need you to go to the Spaceport at Chemical Plant and guard the Space shuttles there in case the Resistance gets wind that Sonic's still alive. Kill them on sight."
"Do not underestimate my power Doctor," Infinite replied flatly. "I will crush those insects underneath my heel."
Eggman nodded, turning off the monitor. Infinite turned on his heel walking out of the penthouse stalking down the hallway the only sign that he was angry was his tail lashing from side to side. He took the elevator feeling the lift, shake underneath his feet as it descended to the bottom floor, leaving him to stalk out of the building before he levitated into the air a red glow surrounding him. The Jackal took off in a red trail of light which stood out against the light red hue of the early dawn skies.
Unknown to Infinite a black and red hedgehog observed the trail of red light shooting up into the sky, his crimson eyes narrowing at the sight of the jackal. Shadow felt his fingers clench into a fist. His blood red crimson irises followed Infinite's movements carefully. The jackal quickly faded from sight. There was no doubt heading to wherever the doctor told him to go, probably to kill even more innocent people.
"He's on his way again."
Shadow said, taking several steps sticking close to the shadows his black and red fur blending in with the shadows of the building. The last six months hadn't been easy for him to say the least. Making Infinite had pay had been his focus for destroying Omega, creating that false construct of him to trick the whole world into believing that once again he was working for Doctor Eggman. He didn't want to think about how this false Shadow was affecting Rouge; he could only imagine the supposed betrayal that the bat was feeling right now.
Also for using that illusion of Maria against you. His brain reminded him.
Shadow gritted his teeth at the thought of the callous way that the jackal used his best friends' memory against him. He looked down at the Chaos Emerald nestled in the palm of his hands.
"I will make him pay no matter what."
With that Shadow broke into a silent supersonic jog following the trial of red light shooting across the sky being pursued by the Ultimate Lifeform who was determined to make him pay for his actions.
In the Bunker at Sunset Heights sleep didn't come quickly to a particular red wolf. Gadget tossed and turned on the small makeshift bed, sleep dotting his brow. His nails dug into the sheets. He slowly opened his eyes jolting up in his sleep; his amber eyes darted about the rows of makeshift beds. Gadget breathed slowly, looking around at the slumbering few Mobians in their beds his panic from his nightmare slowly fading.
He still couldn't believe that it had already been three days since he had joined the Resistance. It seemed like a bizarre dream, one that Gadget wasn't sure that he couldn't wake up and it was a never-ending nightmare.
Gadget didn't want to think about what had occurred just a mere three days ago. Eggman's forces had taken Redgate City although the Resistance's best efforts and his friends were dead. The wolf recalled having wept at their funeral, watching their bodies being wrapped up in the brown blankets with the Resistance logo stamped on the covers watching their bodies lowered into their graves.
That ivory hedgehog Silver had given a speech honoring their bravery, but Gadget had mostly ignored it. Gadget stifled the yawn slipping out of, bed making his way down to the mess hall to grab an early breakfast The hallways were quiet for most of the Resistance members were fast asleep.
Gadget made his way into the communications room where several large monitors were stationed at the computer monitors seeing both Amy and Sahara observing the monitor screens. Both females had a determined expression on their faces watching the screens.
Gadget entered the room, noticing that they weren't alone. The Chaotix, Silver, and Raven were watching the screens seeing Eggman's logo flash across the screen.
"Oh no, not this stupid commercial again." Espio facepalmed.
"I like it. It's good TV!" Charmy piped up prompting Vector to place a hand on the bees' mouth silencing him.
Gadget's attention was drawn towards the screen, seeing a crudely drawn city with a picture of the sun smiling happily. Big, bold black letters flashed across the screen. Saying come to join the Eggman Empire! For some weird reason, there was old-fashioned music you'd hear in one of those old infomercials.
"Dear Citizens of Mobius are you tired of living in a cheerful city filled with irritating neighbors?" Eggman's voice asked.
"If so it's time for a change of pace."
The screen transitioned from a bright sunny day replaced with mechanical buildings; dull mechanical groans in the distance with thick, toxic smoke clouds filling the air.
"Now then you have to ask yourselves how can I live in a world that doesn't have clean, breathable air?"
The screen showed a red wolf wearing green gloves and boots lying on the ground, choking on the thick black smoke.
"That's no longer a problem with Doctor Eggman's all-inclusive Robotomy treatment!" Eggman cried out. "Only for, $29.99 rings if you join up with the Eggman Empire today!"
There was a zap sound coming from the screen, and the wolf turned into a robotic wolf glaring at the screen.
"Also, there are advantages to being a robot."
The screen showed a list of the boxes for eat, sleep and think ticked off.
"Why if you become a robot you don't have to worry about gaining weight, you won't suffer nightmares anymore and never have to think ever again!"
The screen panned over to several of Eggman's pawns with one of them sporting a smile.
"That's what we call living the good life!"
A line of Egg pawns stood together waving happily against a white screen with the Eggman Empire logo in the background.
"Come and join the Eggman Empire, where the possibilities are Infinite."
A crudely drawn Infinite resembling the masked creature which they'd fighting against for the last few months slowly floated up from behind the line of robots his hands held out in a sweeping gesture.
"You'll love being a part of the Eggman Empire."
The commercial ended with the words Love mandatory flashing across the screen.
The screen shut off. Silver turned on his heel facing the small crowd his expression was serious. Raven for some reason had tensed when Infinite had shown up on the screen a brief look of horror appearing in his eyes.
"We show that ad to all recruits to show them what we're up against." Silver explained, looking at the recruits who were standing there as Gadget swished his tail from side to side nervously swallowing past the lump forming in his throat.
"So, has Eggman used that robotomy treatment on Mobians?" A light gray bear called out from the back of the crowd. "I mean it's been nearly six months, and we haven't seen any robot Mobians."
"That may be true, but with Eggman, it's likely he may resort to that tactic," Silver said. "Today, Tails and I will oversee your mission here in Sunset Heights."
Gadget inhaled deeply. Ever since joining the Resistance Gadget patiently waited for the chance to prove himself and now the moment finally had a was waiting to prove himself. Gadget saw the twin-tailed fox walking towards him with the Burst Wispon clasped in his hands. Tails had been Sonic's longtime sidekick as the young fox turned towards him. The young fox was rumored to have an intelligence one that rivaled Doctor Eggman's intelligence. He felt the weight of the Wispon pressed into his hands.
"The Burst Wispons are usually reserved for beginners," Tails gestured to the small black switch on the bottom of the Wispon. "All you have to do is to point and shoot."
Gadget nodded, falling into stride as Sahara followed them clasping a Lightning Wispon her eyes were eager. The maned wolf was ready to get into the field along with Amy not too far behind her.
"I was able to repair most of the Wispons, and I'm going to be helping out with today's mission as well." Tails added in twitching his tails from side to side.
"Today's mission is simple. Some Egg pawns just arrived in Sunset Heights with Eggman determined to root us out."
The news from Silver sent a small ripple of unease through the small crowd. Gadget swallowed nervously; his fingers shook ever so slightly gripping the Wisp on determined not to let his fear show on his face. The rest of his unit was eagerly walking away from the Bunker breaking into a run with Gadget keeping pace.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Silver and Tails working together to deal with the swarm of Buzz Bombers as Tails sliced through the robotic bees with his tails. Several more of the robotic bees were wrapped up in a cyan glow were thrown into a wall.
The rest of the Resistance members were busy engaging the robots.
"I can do this, just point and shoot."
Gadget pointed the Burst Wispon at the approaching robots pressing down on the switch seeing the whoosh of the flames erupting from the end of the Wispon destroying the robots effortlessly a small smile appeared on his face.
I'm doing it! I'm, actually doing it! Gadget thought to himself gleefully watching the stream of flame he held out his left wrist, his grappling hook resting firmly on his left wrist, he activated it watching the wire lash out with precision striking the robots destroying them still keeping a tight grip on his Wispon.
Sahara smirked lashing out with her Void Wispon watching the small black hole doing its work destroying the robots by sucking them into a black void. It felt so good to her as every strike that they made against Eggman was payback for the pain and misery that the mad scientist had inflicted on their home.
"What is that crazy wolf doing?"
Silver heard the cry went up as he saw Gadget wasn't even bothering to use his Wispon the small smile that was on his face. He looked over at Tails the kit looked over the battle for most of Eggman's robots had been destroyed for only a few remained. Gadget failed to notice the lone robot sneaking up behind him with a fist raised striking the red wolf on the back of the head sending him sprawling towards the ground.
"Gadget! Hold on!"
Tails immediately dove seeing the Wispon being yanked out from the young wolf's hands, sending it skidding across the ground. Gadget felt the full force of the blow nearly knocking him senseless sending him crashing down to the ground gravity dragging him downwards, his jaw colliding with the hard ground causing his teeth to bite his tongue. His legs felt like lead, for he was losing consciousness and through his blurry vision the last thing he saw was Tails coming to his rescue lashing out with his tails destroying the robot, and he gave into unconsciousness.
They were faint and muffled, but the wolf could still hear their voices of two Mobian. Gadget struggled to open his eyes, and his pounding headache wasn't helping matters. The wolf managed to open his eyes, seeing a pink blob hovering over him speaking in low tones. He began to his eyes, feeling his glasses being placed on his forehead Amy's gentle hand was pushing down on his shoulder.
"Take it easy Gadget," Amy said, holding up two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
Ah, the concussion test. Gadget looked at Amy calmly. "You're holding up two fingers on both of your hands and my visions' fine when you put on my glasses." Gadget said hoarsely reaching up to touch the bandages on his head wincing as he did so.
"It's okay, we were able to destroy the robots, so we're safe for now," Amy gently patted his ungloved hand silently marveling at how soft his fur was. "You're going to have to stay in bed for a few days."
For how much longer are we going to be safe? Gadget thought to himself hearing the door hiss open as Knuckles and Sahara came in the maned wolf was giving Knuckles a status update on Gadget's condition.
"He's lucky to be alive," Sahara chimed in walking in with Knuckles the echidna had a stoic expression on his face. Gadget knew straight away that he was in trouble. "Dr. Mina does want to keep him in the infirmary for a few days
"Commander Knuckles I- I'm sorry."
Knuckles looked at him with an unreadable expression on his face. The silence was tense in the room before he heard the low heavy sigh. Gadget found himself making eye contact with the Guardian who looked disappointed in him. Gadget felt his spirits plummet lowering his head digging his nails into the blanket shamefully folding his ears back against his skull.
"You got carried away Rookie," Knuckles said. "In combat, you must always keep an eye on your surroundings at all times. I told you when I first met you that this war, not a game."
Gadget lowered his head shamefully aware of the very likely scenario Knuckles would discharge him from the Resistance for his reckless actions. He wasn't going to get another chance ever to avenge his friends, and he felt that pit of dread forming in the pit of his stomach.
"Are you going to kick me out of the Resistance?"
Knuckles hesitated for a brief moment looking over at Amy and Shara exchanging a look of concern with each other speaking in low tones. Knuckles shook his head from side to side in a gesture that meant no.
"No, I won't. I hate to think what would have happened if Tails hadn't saved you."
Gadget nodded numbly with relief sinking into the bed. Gadget felt Sahara place a gentle hand on his shoulder watching both Knuckles and Amy walking away from him talking in low tones with each other as he let out a quiet sigh sinking into his bed wondering if he had made a mistake in joining the Resistance.
"I can't be reckless anymore," Gadget said to no one in particular. "From here in I'll become a reliable member of the Resistance, I'm not going to let anyone else down I promise."
With the promise in his heart Gadget settled back on the hard mattress his eyes fluttering closed settling into an uneasy slumber determined to carry out his commitment.
Author's note I'm just going to say it. I love the join the Eggman Empire ad, and I've always planned to include this ad into the story with some alterations to it since I didn't want to copy it word for word.
Also, I wanted to put in Metropolis there as to show which other cities have been affected by Eggman's take over and to also show what Shadow's been up to since we last saw him.
One of the things that bugged me was that the Jackal squad wasn't focused on since the only mention that they got was that Shadow wiped them out and I find it odd that there's no mention of them for the rest of the game. They are going to play a role in this story. Sonic will appear next chapter since things are starting to pick up.
Like I've said that Gadget is not going to have an easy time at first since the game didn't seem to expand on the implication that the Avatar to put it lightly was struggling with their new role as a member of the Resistance.
As per usual thoughts/ suggestions and reviews are welcome as always and I'll talk to you guys soon with the next chapter.